Page 54 - S. Ličen, I. Karnjuš, & M. Prosen (Eds.). (2019). Women, migrations and health: Ensuring transcultural healthcare. Koper, University of Primorska Press.
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ž Lenarčič and Mateja Sedmak
quency, responses and measures of violence against migrant women, as well
as the support provided by public services. This leads to the conclusion that
women who are in the country with unregulated legal status are even more
vulnerable than those obtaining legal status; since illegal migrant women do
not have a legal personal income, they are consequently not entitled to so-
cial benefits and support services provided by public institutions. In other
words, they depend on the perpetrator and live in fear of deportation. With
the purpose to obtain qualitative data, Vah Jevšnik (2016) conducted 30 in-
terviews with professionals working with victims of gender-based violence,
one of them being employed in Asylum Home. The study identified several
risk factors in this social group, among which the most important are: lack
of information regarding support systems, language barriers, mistrust and
suspicion towards professional workers (especially men), absence of social
networks, problems with integration, prejudice and discrimination against
their way of life, low socio-economic status and low level of education.
Best Practices Overview
As evident from the review of national legislation and scientific literature,
the specific needs and rights of migrant women in relation to reproductive
health lack attention. Persistent efforts to resist this trend nonetheless make
it possible to identify examples of good practice which are presented below.
As discussed above, migrant women in Slovenia are recognized as an espe-
cially vulnerable group and as such they have also limited access to a range
of (reproductive) health information and services. With the purpose to im-
prove access to healthcare services for different vulnerable groups in Slove-
nia, a chain of clinics (i.e. Pro Bono Clinic) was established. These clinics are
intended for persons without medical insurance, such as people who are not
residents in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia, asylum seekers, rejected
asylum seekers, illegal refugees and refugees. Currently, there are four clinics
located in Ljubljana, Maribor, Koper and Kranj. In the context of improving
access to healthcare services, it is necessary to mention the project Towards
Better Health and Reducing Inequalities in Health (2013–2016, financed by the
Norwegian Financial Mechanism Programme). The first aim of the project
was to recognize different vulnerable groups of the population of Slovenia
which face difficulties with access to the healthcare system as well as barriers
within health institutions. Among these groups were migrants, especially mi-
grant women. With the purpose of improving access to these groups, several
suggestions (legislative, administrative) were developed and transmitted to
the competent authorities (Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour, Family, So-
52
quency, responses and measures of violence against migrant women, as well
as the support provided by public services. This leads to the conclusion that
women who are in the country with unregulated legal status are even more
vulnerable than those obtaining legal status; since illegal migrant women do
not have a legal personal income, they are consequently not entitled to so-
cial benefits and support services provided by public institutions. In other
words, they depend on the perpetrator and live in fear of deportation. With
the purpose to obtain qualitative data, Vah Jevšnik (2016) conducted 30 in-
terviews with professionals working with victims of gender-based violence,
one of them being employed in Asylum Home. The study identified several
risk factors in this social group, among which the most important are: lack
of information regarding support systems, language barriers, mistrust and
suspicion towards professional workers (especially men), absence of social
networks, problems with integration, prejudice and discrimination against
their way of life, low socio-economic status and low level of education.
Best Practices Overview
As evident from the review of national legislation and scientific literature,
the specific needs and rights of migrant women in relation to reproductive
health lack attention. Persistent efforts to resist this trend nonetheless make
it possible to identify examples of good practice which are presented below.
As discussed above, migrant women in Slovenia are recognized as an espe-
cially vulnerable group and as such they have also limited access to a range
of (reproductive) health information and services. With the purpose to im-
prove access to healthcare services for different vulnerable groups in Slove-
nia, a chain of clinics (i.e. Pro Bono Clinic) was established. These clinics are
intended for persons without medical insurance, such as people who are not
residents in the territory of the Republic of Slovenia, asylum seekers, rejected
asylum seekers, illegal refugees and refugees. Currently, there are four clinics
located in Ljubljana, Maribor, Koper and Kranj. In the context of improving
access to healthcare services, it is necessary to mention the project Towards
Better Health and Reducing Inequalities in Health (2013–2016, financed by the
Norwegian Financial Mechanism Programme). The first aim of the project
was to recognize different vulnerable groups of the population of Slovenia
which face difficulties with access to the healthcare system as well as barriers
within health institutions. Among these groups were migrants, especially mi-
grant women. With the purpose of improving access to these groups, several
suggestions (legislative, administrative) were developed and transmitted to
the competent authorities (Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour, Family, So-
52
